DENVER – The race for governor of Colorado was too close to call Tuesday night, with final numbers not expected until this morning.
As of 1:20 a.m. today, Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican challenger Bob Beauprez were in a dead heat, both tied at 48 percent.
Beauprez edged Hickenlooper by 539 votes, with Beauprez garnering 839,572 votes and Hickenlooper holding onto 839,033 votes.
The two candidates both told supporters just before midnight that they should go to sleep and wait for more answers come daybreak.
Hickenlooper – who loathes wearing ties but joked that he wore a tie all night expecting a final result – said he felt the need to thank his supporters even without final numbers.
“I wanted to make sure I told each and every one of you how much we appreciate all your support, not just during this election, but over the last four years,” Hickenlooper said to an attentive audience at Union Station in Denver, where he held his watch party.
Beauprez also thanked his supporters, but seemed optimistic about a win in the morning.
“It’s been a huge night for Republicans, and we’ve got a little bit more work to do, but we’re on the right side of even,” Beaurpez said, surrounded by his family at a GOP watch party at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center just south of Denver.
“When we get up tomorrow, we celebrate the big trifecta,” added Beauprez, referring to Republican wins for U.S. Senate, the 6th Congressional District and possibly governor.
The numbers had been following a manic trajectory, with key counties still left to report final numbers, including Boulder and Denver. Both those counties lean to the left.
It’s no surprise that the gubernatorial race remains tight as the first numbers were reported. Pollsters had the race at a statistical tie, minus a few outlier surveys.
The race is truly Hickenlooper’s first election as a public official. He sailed into the Denver mayor’s office in 2003, where he enjoyed years of popularity through his 2010 gubernatorial run.
His race in 2010 was hardly a contest, as Republican candidates, plagued by controversy, could not mount a challenge. Conservative stalwart Tom Tancredo, a former congressman, attempted to defeat Hickenlooper by running on a third-party ticket, but Hickenlooper still easily defeated Tancredo.
Democrats have been fighting against a so-called “sixth-year wave,” in which Americans tend to vote for whatever party is not associated with the president.
“Americans are tired of the president and his misguided policies,” said Colorado GOP Chairman Ryan Call. “They’re angry about being lied to.”
Beauprez spent much of the election trying to paint definitive contrasts between himself and Hickenlooper. He hit hardest on public safety, assailing Hickenlooper for prison policies that released dangerous offenders early. One of those cases involved the murder of prisons chief Tom Clements. Beauprez was criticized by Clements’ wife for using the tragedy as political fodder.
Beauprez also built upon anger with Hickenlooper for signing a package of gun control measures last year, and for granting a temporary reprieve from execution for convicted killer Nathan Dunlap.
Beauprez lost a gubernatorial election in 2006 when he was defeated by Democrat Bill Ritter. The former congressman knew that for this election, he would have to be all in.
Hickenlooper remained mostly positive throughout the campaign, choosing to highlight his successes turning Colorado’s economy around, despite the economic downturn. The governor also focused on his recovery work following multiple natural disasters.
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
